Florence Stove Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 8, 1952

98 N.L.R.B. 16 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

16 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
FLORENCE STOVE COMPANY and OFFICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL
UNION, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER . Cases Nos . 10-RC=1684'and 10-
RC-1685. February 8,1952
Decision and Direction of Elections
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
Jerold B. Sindler, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made.
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with these cases to a three-
member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Styles].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain!
employees of the Employer.
3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9P
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate units :
The Petitioner seeks two separate units at the Employer's Lewis--
burg, Tennessee, plant; one composed of technical employees, and
the other of office and clerical employees. The Employer asserts that,
a single office, clerical, and technical unit is appropriate. There is.
no history of collective bargaining affecting these employees. In ac-
cordance with usual Board practice in situations where, as here, one
party objects to the inclusion of technical employees in the same unit
with office and clerical employees, we find that the separate units.
sought by the Petitioner are appropriate.' There remains for con-
sideration the composition of each of the units.
The Technical Unit
The Petitioner's proposed technical unit is composed of all engi-
neering and time-study employees. The Employer takes no position,
regarding the composition of this unit. The engineering employees,
who are employed in the engineering department under the super-
vision of the chief engineer and the assistant chief engineer,2 include.
liaison engineers, engineer-product designers, draftsmen A, and
draftsmen B.3 The record establishes that the duties of these em-
' American Locomotive Company , 92 NLRB 115.
2 The parties agree, and we find , that the chief engineer and the assistant chief engineer
should be excluded from the unit as supervisors.
8Also employed in the enginvoring^department,4s al bill `of'materials clerk and a secre-
98 NLRB No. 4.
FLORENCE STOVE COMPANY 17
ployees, and the skills and training required for the positions, are
similar to the duties, skills, and training of employees in the mer-
chandise development department at another of the Employer's plants,
which employees, the Board held, were technical employees 4 Ac-
cordingly, we find that these employees are technical employees. The
record further establishes, and we find, that the assistant time-study
engineer,' the time-study men, and the time-study observers are like-
wise technical employees," and we are satisfied that all these employees
have a sufficient community of interest to warrant their inclusion in
a single technical unit.? ,
The Office and Clerical Unit
The parties are in substantial agreement as to the composition of
this unit. However, the Employer took no position regarding the
unit placement of the following employees, whom the Petitioner
would include in the unit :
The duties of the assistant purchasing agent and the buyer include,
among others, the placing of orders for various items of supplies and
equipment. It appears that they effectively bind the Employer's
credit in the regular course of their work. In accordance with es-
tablished Board practice, we find that these employees are managerial
employees, and we shall therefore-exclude them from the unit.
The assistant supervisor in the billing department and the assistant
to the production control manager assign work to other employees in
their departments; however, the record fails to establish that such
duties require the use of independent judgment. Although the assis-
tant supervisor in the billing department has nominal authority to
act for his supervisor in the latter's_absence, the record establishes
that he has never exercised such authority,,, and, it appears that any
opportunity to exercise such authority would be sporadic. The record
fails to establish that either of these employees possesses any of the
other indicia of supervisory authority. Under these circumstances,
we find that these employees are not supervisors within the meaning
of the Act,9 and we shall therefore include them in the unit.
Accordingly, on the basis of the foregoing and the entire record, we
tary to the chief engineer. As the record establishes that these employees are not technical
employees , we shall include them in the office and clerical unit.
a Florence Stove Company, 94 NLRB r434.
This employee assigns work to the time -study men and time-study observers. As the
record fails to establish that such duties require the use of independent judgment, and as
he possesses none of the other indicia of supervisory authority , we find that he is not a
supervisor as defined in the Act
6 Florence Stove Company, supra. As the clerk-typist in the time -study department
performs only clerical duties, we shall include her in the office and clerical unit.
IIt is not contended that any of the employees in the technical unit requested are
professional employees.
8 The Girdler Corporation ( Dana Pro)ect), 96 NLRB 894.
9 Florence Stove Company , -supra.
18 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
find that the following two groups of employees constitute separate
units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
(a) All technical employees at-the Employer 's Lewisburg, Ten-
nessee, plant , including liaison engineers , engineer -product designers,
draftsmen A, draftsmen B, time-study men , time-study observers, and
the assistant time-study engineer , but excluding office and clerical
employees , production and maintenance employees , confidential em-
ployees, professional employees , guards, the chief engineer , the assis-
tant chief engineer , the supervisor of the time-study department, and
all other supervisors as defined in the Act.
(b) All office and clerical employees '`at the Employer's Lewisburg,
Tennessee , plant, including but not limited to the employees listed on
Appendix A attached hereto, but excluding all technical employees,
production and maintenance employees, confidential employees, pro-
fessional employees , managerial employees, guards, and supervisors as
defined in the Act .10
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
Appendix A
Classifications of Employees Included in Office and Clerical Unit
Engineering department
Bill of materials clerk
Secretary to chief engineer
Purchasing department
Purchasing expediter
Clerk-stenographer
Materials accounting department
Purchase parts planning clerk
Clerk calculator operator
Inventory clerk
Accounts payable clerk
Payroll department
Labor analysis clerk
Payroll clerk A
Payroll clerk B
Payroll clerk-machine and reports clerk
Billing department
Assistant supervisor
Pricing clerk
Checker
Invoice clerk
10 Certain specific exclusions are set forth on Appendix B attached hereto.
FLORENCE STOVE COMPANY 19
General accounting department
Typist
Duplicating operator and typist
Telephone operator and receptionist
Relief telephone operator, receptionist, and typist
Cost estimator
Cost estimating clerk A
Cost estimating clerk B
Factory accountant A
Factory accountant B
Government reports and priorities employee
Accounting clerk
Station wagon driver
Messenger and driver
Section leader-office services
Timekeeper
Production tally clerk
Time-study department
Clerk-typist
Production control department
Assistant to production control manager
Production expediter
Production clerk
Clerk-stenographer
Appendix B
Classifications of Employees Excluded From Office and Clerical Unit
Supervisors
Purchasing agent
Supervisor; materials accounting department
Supervisor, payroll department
Supervisor, billing department
Office manager
Assistant office manager
Chief cost accountant
Chief timekeeper
Production control manager
Personnel manager
Employment manager
Managerial employees
Assistant purchasing agent
Buyer
Professional employees
Industrial nurses
20 z DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR='RELATION'S BOARD
Confidential employees
Secretary to office manager and assistant office manager
Secretary to vice president
Secretary to plant superintendent
Clerk-stenographer in personnel department
GRINNELL BROTHERS 1 and MICHIGAN JOINT BOARD, RETAIL'& DEPART-
MENT STORE EMPLOYEES , AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS OF
AMERICA, CIO,2 PETITIONER . Case No. 7-RC-1559. February 8,
1952
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Emil C. Farkas,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and
Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is a Michigan corporation with its principal
offices and places of business at Detroit, Michigan. It is engaged in
the retail sale of musical merchandise and household appliances. It
also owns and operates a piano factory located.at Holly, Michigan.
The Employer has approximately 25 stores within the State of Michi-
gan, 1 store in Toledo, Ohio, and 1 in Windsor, Ontario. Only the
Flint, Michigan, store is involved in this proceeding. During a recent
12-month period, the Employer in all its operations purchased
$5,500,000 to $6,000,000 worth of merchandise. Of this amount, in
excess of $1,000,000 worth of merchandise was received from outside
the State of Michigan. During the same period, the Employer's sales
amounted to between $9,500,000 and $10,000,000. Of this amount,
the Employer shipped in excess of $100,000 worth of merchandise to
its stores located outside the State of Michigan.
The Employer contends that in deciding whether or not to assert
jurisdiction in this matter the Board should not consider any opera-
tions of the Employer except the Flint store. We do not agree with
this. contention. The policies of the Employer are formulated and
determined for all the stores by its board of directors and its president.
The manager of the Flint store has the responsibility of conducting
the store under the supervision of the president of the Employer and
' As amended at the hearing.
s As amended at the hearing.
98 NLRB No. 13.